September 2017

Most people think that a restaurant is the be all and end all of a chef’s career but that is not even remotely true. With the world being even more connected than ever before, there are so many things you can do as a chef now. A restaurant is a great place to hone your skills but here are some other ideas for food entrepreneurs who are willing to take some risks.

Cooking for Business Events

Good corporate catering is legitimately a thing now with so many companies looking to sample more cuisines and dress down in their official events. If you manage to sweet talk your way into one company’s retreat or mixer, it won’t be long before other companies also take you on, especially if you are endorsed by a few CEOs and executives. Business persons can be difficult to deal with at times as they have very exacting tastes, but if you get into a groove they can be good customers as they pay promptly and well.

Cooking for Fun

This is the opposite of the earlier one: kids party catering and other fun events where your cooking skills will be put to the test only regarding taste. The best part about cooking for fun events is that you get to cook intensely for a few hours and then relax until the next event. Your schedule will be much more flexible than if you were working in a restaurant because that will be shift based whereas event caterers only work from event to event. You can also tap into charity events where you will charge only a fraction of your normal prices or only charge costs, but as they tend to sell in larger quantities you will still make more money than usual. Read more info on kids party catering Sydney.

Bake Your Heart Away

If you don’t want to be bothered with actual restaurant space but you like the idea of a store location, the pop up sale is for you. Bake in a huge batch, and go ‘pop up’ somewhere (with permission of course) and sell. This works best if you already have a following, but even if you don’t, you can work yourself up by doing it in small batches first and increasing the frequency of the pop ups, and then going mega blitz in a larger location which is central to all your previous customers.

Drive around the Country

Take a page out of the movie Chef and go get yourself a food truck. If you have a good menu and a good line cook to help you, a food truck is a versatile and fun way of making money. You don’t have the taxation and sanitation problems of setting up in one place and the food service is fast and intense, giving you time to rest, recover and go at it again the next day.